Press release

Each team has their bad day, and I think today was ours, says Italy's Berruto

Ivan Zaystev and the Italian team had trouble with Cuba's blocking on Sunday

Hamamatsu, Japan, November 27, 2011 - Cuba picked up a very big FIVB Men's World Cup win against a strong Italian team, who just were not on their game to open the third round.

Italy coach Mauro Berruto: I have not many words except congratulations for Cuba. They were better than us in all parts of the game; technically and tactically. They deserve to win. In every tournament each team has their bad day, and I think today was ours.

On why they changed the rotation more than usual: I think regarding today’s match, maybe I could have done things differently but it was a bad day for my players, and for me. So I don’t think there was something that could have changed the outcome. [Looking forward] to tomorrow we don’t have to think about this match anymore. We had one defeat against Russia, and now this one — so we hope the next four matches are four victories, and we will see what happens on the last day.

Italy captain Cristian Savani: There are so many things to say about today’s game. We need to refresh mentally after the loss and prepare a lot in order to win tomorrow.

Cuba coach Orlando Samuells Blackwood: I’d like to thank the Italian team for their congratulations. Today we did as we planned in the meeting so that we could beat the Italians. We have been working on defense, and today I think our defense did well.

Cuba captain Wilfredo Leon Venero: We are trying to do our best, playing as we planned before the game. Tomorrow we’ll do our best to win, keep our concentration mentally, and hope to be in good condition physically.